Yeah? Well People in Hell Want Water....

Ever try to find a flight that works into your schedule and is within your budget?  It's like finding the one piece that is missing from the puzzle you're putting together in a sea of pieces that don't fit. 
I'm trying to find a flight to Vegas for a vacation.  Really, just a long weekend.  Unless I decide to leave my wife at home, it's going to cost a pretty penny.
Alright, I guess that I don't have anything more to say about that for right now.  Wow, talk about random.

The first shoe falls

The Yankees fire their pitching coach and are considering how to handle Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.  Each of whom has a contract expiring at the end of this year.  Re-signing each means that we are closer to being called Team Geezer than a team of destiny.  What is this infatuation with over the hill former stars?  Rivera is still at the top of his game, despite approaching 41.  Pettitte was 11-2 before injuries shelved him for the better part of August and September.  Jeter had one of his worst seasons ever, but showed signs of promise in the last couple of weeks in the season.  Word on the street is that Jeter wants a 4 year contract, which would put him at 40 when the contract expires.  Pettitte will consider retiring, but will likely re-sign for a one year deal.  Rivera will likely be back for a one or two year deal.
While all this is happening, the farm system is producing 2 highly regarded prospects.  Jesus Montero is the catcher of the future with shaky defense, but the ability to hit like it's no tomorrow.  Ed Nunez is the shortstop of the future.  This begs the question.  If both of these players are ready to take over, does it make sense to have Posada and Jeter in their respective positions when they are in decline? 
To be fair, Posada is still playing at a high level.  The problem is that injuries limited him to 80 some odd games this past year and Joe Girardi is saying that he can't catch any more than 3 out of 4 games. 
We will see how this plays out, but while it's tough to replace a legend, it's even tougher when the legend isn't playing like one any longer.

Hard to Remember

Last week, there was a lot of controversy regarding helmet to helmet hits in the NFL.  Many opinions were heard that sided with the opinion that the league needed to step in to protect these players from themselves.  There were a few personalities or players who thought that this was much to-do over nothing.

One person was Mark Packer.  He hosts a show in Charlotte called "Primetime with the Packman".  I would characterize the popularity of the program because of one philosophy the producers of the show seem to have.  Anyone can call in with an opinion and Packer will give them their air time without cutting them short.  The comments can be intelligent and well thought out, or they don't have to be.  Packer gives the audience the forum to comment.  He has many issues that he will absolutely not listen to the opposite side on.  One, in particular, seems to be the NFL protecting it's players.  Packer was heard several times over this week referencing the sissification of the league because of the rules.

It's hard to remember, but there was a time when one of the best defensive linemen in the league was Dennis Byrd.  He was so quick and instinctive that it was deadly.  He was supposed to be the next Lawrence Taylor.  It didn't turn out that way.  His life changed when he put his head down and tried to sack David Krieg of the Kansas City Chiefs.  His good friend, Scott Mersereau was coming from the opposite side and hit Byrd on a helmet to chest hit.  Byrd's spinal cord was damaged in the hit and it would take a miracle for him to regain the ability to walk again. 
There was a young up and coming tight end for the Buffalo Bills, named Kevin Everett.  It's hard to remember that kickoff when he was in on the tackle against the Denver Broncos.  Kevin crumpled to the ground while trying to make a hit on the kick returner and it took a miracle for him to walk again.

I suppose Mr. Packer isn't considering these instances when he thinks of how the NFL is losing the toughness from the past.  It's unfortunate that traumatic injuries are necessary for people to see that the good old way, is not necessarily the best way. 

If Dale Sr. had decided that the HANS device wasn't too restrictive, then he would still be alive today.  I suppose Mr. Packer thinks that this was sissifying NASCAR.

Head injuries ended the terrific careers of Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Al Toon, and countless others.  Mr. Packer is fortunate that he will never have to suffer the pain that these individuals may have to endure for the rest of their lives.

If I tell you a rooster can pull a freight train, you'd better hook his ass up

Nothing too exciting happening around here lately.  We just got back from going to see Jill's mom and grandfather in Florida.  Funniest thing, Jill's grandfather, who we refer to as Bop, woke up the morning we were driving down there, decided he was bored and went out and bought a car.  He decided that his 2009 Honda Pilot wasn't cutting nothing but the cheese, so he traded it in for a Lincoln MKS.
Crazy! 
That tells me that I'm not towing the line anymore with my 2002 Pontiac.  Oh well, my car needs can wait for awhile.  I'm not even sure what I'd want to get, but I think it would be neat for my car to hit the 10 year mark or something even further.

So, my neighbor, Nick, has these roommates who are positively awful.  Seriously, they are the worst roommates I've ever seen.  They leave oil stains in his driveway, holes in his bathroom door, and worst of all, they don't pay their rent on time.  What a bunch of freeloaders.  He finally decided that their nine lives were exhausted because he kicked them out this week.  My guess is that he won't soon have a worse roommate scenario.  I just don't get it.  How could people be that oblivious?

We are in the planning process towards building a bar in our basement.  I am trying to decide how I want the top to look, but the body of the bar should be a piece of cake to complete this weekend.  Famous last words, right?  We'll see how that goes.

The week in Review

Ok, so apparently I don't have as many entertaining stories about myself as I thought I had.  The last 2 will have to do for now.
Here's my week in review for the last week in January -
Sunday, January 24 - This was one of only 3 times in my life as a Jets fan that I woke up thinking that if they won a game, they would be in the Super Bowl.  Of course it didn't happen, but there is a lot to be optimistic about.  They have a great defense that got torched by one of the best QB's of all time.  There's no shame in that.  One thing I'd like to see is how well the Jets rebound from this.  There have been 2 occasions in the past decade where the Jets have had increased expectations and those seasons have been largely forgettable. 
See 2002, where Chad Pennington rallies the team from a 1-4 start to a division championship and a first round blow out of the Colts.  The next year, we were pathetic and finished 6-10 after Chad got injured in the preseason against the Giants.
See 2004, where they were a Doug Brien field goal away from playing the Patriots in the AFC Championship game.  The next year, Chad and Jay Fiedler both get hurt in a span of 7 plays and the season goes up in flames at 4-12, thus ending the Herman Edwards era.
Monday, January 25 - At this point, I know what you're thinking.  "Does he really have enough happening in his life that he could fill an entire week with stuff going day-by-day?"  At this point, I'm not sure, but let's see where the journey takes us.
Have you ever seen the Dr. Phil family?  They've been around for about 6-7 years now.  They have been highly disfunctional.  I wonder how this happens?  A seemingly normal family goes up in flames before our very eyes.  Mom and Dad are cheating on each other and arguing perpetually.  Older sister is pregnant at 15.  By 18, she will have 2 kids.  Younger sister hates older sister for getting all of the attention and now she is doing drugs and involved with alcohol.  She is now 18 or 19 I believe.  This drama unfolds every Monday if you care to see a real life train wreck unfolding.
Tuesday, January 26 - The low sodium menu we're having is going well.  Sodium is a cause for high blood pressure and overall bad health, so we're trying to take our intake levels to a more reasonable number.  We eat packaged meals all the time and I'm pretty sure the sodium in those things will kill any reasonable person if not curbed.  So, we're going to begin to make our own items from scratch and see how that goes.  Today we finished our fresh green beans, so we'll have to go back to eating them out of the can until we can go back to the grocery store.  Wow!  What a difference.  I never noticed how much sodium was in a can of vegetables.
Wednesday, January 27 - So I'm using my tutoring money to save for our vacation in July.  We've decided to save $300 each for miscellaneous meals.  So far, I'm up to $150.  Well, I thought I was up to $150, but there was a bill that I paid, so I'm actually at $130.  My hope is to have enough by the end of March so that I can build up a little extra if I need to.  I was having to pay for my XMradio out of tutoring money, but I'm going to cancel, so they asked me to stay on for another 3 months for free to make sure that's the decision I want to make.  It is, but at least I don't have to pay anything else.  Then in May, I can cancel.
Thursday, January 28 - You would never believe how warm it was today.  I'm pretty sure it got up to the high 50s or low 60s.  I went out for a walk at lunch and I'm pretty sure I was sweating by the end of it.  This will most likely start a trend of days where I focus on the weather in some way shape or form.  This is the only place I've seen where you could be in the 60s one day, and then have a wintery mix the next.
Friday, January 29 - So I left work today to snow.  It was crazy.  Even crazier was the fact that I got home and there wasn't a drop of anything on the ground.  That's good news for me because I hate snow.  We went to the mall and walked around for a little bit and Jill got a new spring coat.  I'm glad because she always wears this awful looking fleece, or the sweater that goes down to her knees.  It's great, let me tell ya.
Saturday, January 30 - We woke up this morning to snow.  Actually, it was ice with a tiny layer of snow over it.  That's the problem with a wintery mix in the Carolinas.  There isn't actually snow, it's more like ice.  Then everyone drives like they have SuperPowers behind the wheel.  Next thing you know, the news is full of every fool who has run off of the road.  We went to church and came home.  On the way, I bought the Grammy CD.  It's not too bad.  For the record, I believe that I'm probably the only person left who is buying CDs.  Then we get home to find that the furnace is not working in the basement.  After much deliberation, it appears that the Condensate pump that is attached to the furnace is not working correctly and that is forcing the furnace to trigger the safety feature and shut off.  I'm thinking that the tube sending the condensation out of the house has frozen at some point and will be fine once the weather warms up, which should be Monday or Tuesday.